


Girls Night In

by kiss_me_cassie



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Female Friendship, Team Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-14
Updated: 2016-07-14
Packaged: 2018-07-23 23:42:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7484538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kiss_me_cassie/pseuds/kiss_me_cassie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Natasha's got a mysterious injury, Bobbi learns more about a past mission than she wanted to know, Jemma needs to get out of the lab more, and May just wishes they all knew more normal people.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Girls Night In

**Author's Note:**

  * For [celeste9](https://archiveofourown.org/users/celeste9/gifts).



> Amongst lots of other options, she requested THIS, which just tickled my fluffy plot bunny:  
>  _I am all about friendships and team fic. (ALL ABOUT IT. Please don't hesitate to write me gen if that's what you're feeling.) Natasha is my forever favorite and anything involving her would be great! That said I genuinely love everyone… give me all the team bonding and friendships, especially Jemma, Bobbi, and Melinda._
> 
> More thanks than I can ever give to [Bettybackintheday](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Bettybackintheday/pseuds/Bettybackintheday) for the read through and corrections, but especially for taking my note to myself about SCIENCE and making it sound super plausible! All remaining errors are mine.

Natasha moved around the kitchen of the Bus as if she belonged there, heating water in the kettle, measuring out loose tea, and gathering mugs with ease. But even though it didn't appear to impede her movement in any way, Melinda couldn't help but note the bulky bandage wrapped around her upper arm.

She lounged against the counter and gestured towards the wound. 

"It's not often I see you with an injury bad enough to sideline you. What happened?"

"Nothing major, but Stark's medic refused to let me back out in the field."

"And you listened?"

"Considered ignoring her, but it's been quiet. Thought maybe a visit here would be a better use of my time than sitting around the Tower, bored."

"I find it hard to believe hanging out with a big green rage monster and a god would be boring."

Natasha grinned. "You know they're just ordinary men most of the time, right?"

Melinda shrugged. "It's more fun to imagine it my way."

Natasha laughed at that and turned off the whistling tea kettle. 

"So… the arm?" Melinda persisted.

"Honestly not a big deal. If it had been just me and Clint… well, you know how we are together." Melinda sniggered and Natasha gave her a withering look before continuing. "I probably wouldn't have even bothered with a medic. Clint would've patched me up just fine."

"But now you have Tony Stark and a whole team," Melinda said. "I remember when I was driving a desk and you were stuck on assignment in Malibu. You used to call me daily to bitch about Stark."

"Worst two months of my life as a SHIELD agent." She stopped and cocked her head, considering. "Maybe not the worst. The Loki thing might have been worse."

Natasha went back to her tea making, clearly done with the conversation, and Melinda let her. Natasha liked to do things her own way, whether it was talking about a problem or making tea, and Melinda had learned a long time ago not to interfere. 

But that didn't stop her from wondering aloud why Nat was so diligently setting up a tea tray for their semi-regular movie night. They usually just had sodas or, if it had been a particularly bad week, hard liquor.

"Just felt the need for something a little more comforting than our usual."

"So the injury _is_ about more than you're letting on."

Ok, maybe she wasn't quite ready to let it go yet. 

Natasha didn't answer and Melinda waited for her to say something further, but she didn't. With an inward sigh, she suppressed the desire to give Natasha a lecture.

"I'm impressed with your tea making skills," she said instead.

"It doesn't take much work," Natasha replied. She studied Melinda a bit. "You don't know how to make proper tea?"

"Nope. I just dunk a bag of Lipton's into a mug of hot water and I'm good to go."

"I'm surprised your mother never taught you," Natasha said.

"My mother? Have you met my mother?"

Natasha didn't look up from her tea making. "Maria Hill speaks fondly of her."

"Of course she does," Melinda said dryly. "My mother adores Maria Hill."

"And you, I'm sure."

"She probably adores me too, in her own way," Melinda admitted grudgingly, as she shifted uncomfortably against the counter.  
Talking about her own issues had never been a strong point either. Maybe that was an unspoken requirement to working for SHIELD? _Kick-ass women, unable to deal with personal issues in a normal, adult manner._ Hell, maybe it was a requirement for the men, too. Given the friends she had, that sounded about right.

"And?" Natasha prompted, bring her back to the conversation.

"And… does my mother care about me? Of course. But is she interested in teaching me how to make tea - or really, teaching me any domestic skills - just for the sake of knowing how? Only if she thought it would somehow magically bring me and Andrew back together."

Natasha shrugged.

"Sometimes just knowing people care about us is all we need."

Melinda eyed her curiously. Oh yeah, Natasha definitely had something going on. 

"Are you sure there's nothing you want to tell me about your new team?"

But whatever secrets she had, she was keeping them to herself. She shook her head at Melinda's question. 

"Not much to tell. We're Avengers. We avenge. Pretty much covers it all."

Which is when Bobbi showed up and Melinda was forced to abandon any more of an interrogation.

"What's Nat making?" she asked.

"Tea the old fashioned way," Melinda replied, pulling herself back to the present with an effort. It was so much more fascinating trying to figure out Natasha.

" _Russian tea_ the old fashioned way," Natasha corrected, winking at Melinda, who smirked a little.

Bobbi's forehead wrinkled. "Have I had Russian tea before?"

"Probably."

"You've made it on missions, right? With vodka or something?"

Natasha nodded. 

"Tonight Nat's making it with vodka _and_ orange slices, like it's supposed to be made. She tends to make it with whatever she happens to have on hand most of the time," Melinda said.

"Sometimes when I don't have alcohol, I use sedatives," Natasha chimed in innocently, pouring out mugs.

Bobbie looked aghast. " _What_?"

"You're finally confessing to that now? I've waited years for you to admit it," Melinda said, somewhat amused, before looking over at a confused Bobbi. "Has her post-mission tea ever made you feel woozy afterwards?"

Bobbi frowned. "Sometimes. I always assumed it was a combination of the alcohol and coming off the adrenaline high."

Melinda shook her head. "That was Natasha's _special_ Russian tea."

Bobbi stared at Natasha, who nodded.

"You were _drugging_ us?"

"Drugging, sedating, relaxing." Natasha shrugged. "It all has the same desired outcome. Especially if there are wounds to be tended."

"Natasha!" 

"I honestly don't know why you're upset," Natasha said. "I didn't do it all the time, only when it was absolutely necessary. Like in Kosovo. You think you could have handled waiting for medical evac with just a splash of vodka in your tea to take the edge off?"

"The med evac was there almost immediately," she protested. "There was no need --"

"The med evac came three hours later," Natasha interrupted with a pointed look. "Sometimes sedatives are better than alcohol."

Bobbi just gaped at that and Melinda felt a twinge of sympathy for her. Kosovo had been a mess, and while Natasha's solution had been underhanded and bordering on psychotic, it had turned out to be the right one in the end.

"Here, have a drink. It will make you feel better," Natasha said, handing a mug to Bobbi. "I promise it only has vodka and orange in it. No drugs."

Bobbi pushed it aside. "No, thanks. I think I'll stick with Coke tonight after all."

Natasha shrugged and moved to curl up in the cozy easy chair to sip at her own tea. "Suit yourself."

"You could always just drink the vodka straight. That's my plan for after this," Melinda said, securing a spot on one end of the couch. 

She leaned back comfortably. Anyone would think just from looking at the couch that it would be hard and stiff, but the soft leather curved perfectly around her body. God bless Coulson for making sure they had nice furniture on the Bus. 

"Straight vodka? Not a bad idea," Bobbi said, grabbing the bottle of booze and a glass from the shelf and sloshing some in. She turned and held her glass up. "Cheers."

Melinda raised her mug too. "Cheers."

"Zdarovaye." 

"You always have to be different, don't you?" Bobbi asked, taking a hefty swig from her glass before settling in on the other end of the couch from Melinda. 

"It's what keeps other people wary of me," Natasha said with a little smirk. "Why mess with an advantage?"

"Why indeed?" Bobbi took another gulp of vodka then gestured with her glass to Nat's arm. "What's with the bandage?"

Before Natasha had a chance to say anything, Melinda cut in. "She claims it's nothing. Cost of working with a team instead of just Clint." 

"I didn't --"

"What? Change the subject? Sidestep my questions? Mention something about having others care about us?"

It was amusing how startled and almost confused she looked, especially since it was so rare that Natasha let her guard down like that. Melinda almost felt bad for her.

"Don't worry about it. We all have our own personal secrets." 

Bobbi snorted. "Some more than others, apparently."

"The sedative was for your own good!"

"You drugged me!"

"The point is," Melinda cut in sharply, "We're spies. It comes with the territory."

Bobbi huffed and took another sip of her drink, letting it drop.

"So… has anyone seen the rest of our little party this evening? I know Skye's out on a training exercise, but Simmons was supposed to --"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! What did I miss?" 

"Speak of the Devil," Melinda said.

"You're speaking of a metaphorical devil, correct?" Jemma asked as she squeezed in to settle cross-legged between her and Bobbi. "Because in our line of work…"

"Yes, definitely metaphorical."

Bobbi handed her a drink. 

"You didn't miss much. Just Natasha sidestepping questions about her injured arm and confessing to drugging her teammates."

And there they go again, Melinda thought. Maybe it was her punishment at being amused by the confession in the first place.

"No, Melinda was confessing for me," Natasha argued. "There's a difference."

"That sounds ominous. And interesting!" Jemma said, eyes wide. "I always miss the good stuff." 

"Be thankful," Melinda said. "So what held you up this time?"

"Fitz?" Bobbi guessed.

"Isn't it always? He's been tinkering with upgrades to the SHIELD-issue tasers. He wants me to help him figure out how to get the electrical charge to also emit a low-level neurotoxin that will extend the target's time of incapacitation. I keep telling him that will require a larger weapon, but he doesn't want to hear it."

She stopped when she noticed the glazed looks the rest of them were getting. 

"Too much science?" she asked sheepishly.

"A little bit," Bobbi admitted.

"It sounds a lot like walking into the lab when Stark and Banner are at it," Natasha added.

"Ooooh! How amazing would it be to be a fly on the wall while they discussed the latest in laser technology?"

Melinda sighed and vaguely wondered again how she'd wound up here. She'd like to blame her mother, but somehow she didn't think simply being the stubborn, opinionated daughter of a crack intelligence officer was what had led her to this point in her life.

"So are we going to get this movie started or what?" she asked.

"What are we watching? Please tell me it's not another Disney film," Jemma pleaded. "I simply cannot take another Disney film."

"Hey! I love Disney," Bobbi protested. "What's wrong with Disney?"

"It's not that the films are bad, exactly, but…"

"But…?"

"You three are always out in the field, doing exciting things." Natasha raised a brow at that, but Jemma plowed on. "I'm in a lab all day with Fitz, whom I love dearly, but well, he's Fitz. It's nice to get something a little different on these nights. Something not so… sweet."

"I miss the lab," Bobbi lamented.

"You wouldn't if you had a partner who was constantly nattering on about this new technology or that new application for it all day long."

Bobbi snorted. "Trust me, spending the majority of your week around testosterone laden men trying to prove themselves is no picnic either. I need a little sweet at the end of my week. Lumiere and Mrs. Potts sooth me."

"Vodka, too," Natasha said.

"Vodka, too," she agreed. "But _not_ sedatives."

"Um, ladies?" Melinda prompted, not wanting to rehash the Kosovo discussion _again_.

"Whose pick was it?" Bobbi asked.

"Mine," Natasha said.

Jemma looked at her with trepidation. Movie nights when Natasha got to choose sometimes got very interesting. Natasha caught her look and grinned. 

"It's not Disney, although it does have a talking raccoon and a tree. Clint picked it."

Bobbi groaned. "Clint picked our movie? Remind me why we're friends again?"

"Because she's one of only a dozen people you trust to have your back," Melinda said.

"Oh, right. I need more vodka." 

Bobbi reached for the bottle to refill her glass, and Jemma took the opportunity to innocently ask the same question the rest of them had been asking all evening. 

"What happened to your arm, Natasha?" 

Natasha sighed and Melinda saw the exact moment she decided it wasn't worth dancing around anymore. Besides, she knew Jemma was more persistent than either her or Bobbi and wouldn't let up until she got an answer. What Melinda didn't see coming, would never in a million years have seen coming, was what Natasha finally said. 

"It was Clint."

Bobbi stopped pouring. "What? I think I must have misheard you."

"My arm. It was Clint. He nicked me with an arrow."

"On purpose?"

"No. Most definitely _not_ on purpose."

 

Bobbi blinked and then started laughing, huge, loud guffaws. Jemma's eyes went wide and her hands flew up to cover her mouth as she started to giggle uncontrollably. Even Melinda couldn't keep the grin from her face.

"Not to make light of the situation or anything, but how the hell did half of Strike Team Delta manage to hit the other half with _anything_ , never mind a stray _arrow_? You two are always so in sync."

"And that's exactly why I wasn't going to say anything," Natasha grumbled, but her tone lacked any bite, so Melinda figured a little bit of ribbing wasn't going to hurt.

Bobbi leaned forward. "No, seriously. How?"

"We were drinking and Stark kept daring Clint to make all kinds of stupid trick shots. Hit this mark on the ceiling, that fleck of paint on the wall. You know what he's like. And you know Clint can never resist any type of dare."

Bobbi snorted at that. "That's an understatement."

"And…?" Melinda asked. "I'm still missing the part on how _you_ got shot. I've seen you guys do the apple and feather trick while drunk off your asses. He's never even come close to hitting you."

"Turns out Stark not only has state of the art everything in the Tower, he's got _enhanced_ state of the art everything. The elevator is dead silent. Not a whisper. Pepper picked a very awkward time to join the party."

Jemma's brows knit in confusion. "Why was Clint shooting at Pepper?"

"He wasn't. Stark dared him to shoot through something - an apple, in this case - and then hit the crack in the door. The timing just sucked. Would have hit her dead on if I hadn't been the one holding the apple.

"You were _protecting_ her?" Jemma exclaimed. "That's so romantic!"

"It's not romantic, it's stupid," Melinda said.

"Also, can you call it romantic if they're not in a relationship? If they're just friends?"

"They could be more than friends," Jemma protested.

Bobbi looked skeptical. "Nat?"

Nat smirked and leaned back with her tea. "Pepper and I are not, nor will we ever be, more than friends."

"See? So that nixes it being romantic. Brave? Maybe. But not romantic."

"And now you see why I need to get away from the lab more often! Everything is sweet and romantic to me. I want gritty and deadly."

"We really do have to do something about her," Bobbi said, glancing over at Melinda.

"Agreed. Why don't we start with watching this movie and then tomorrow we take turns making sure she has breaks with normal, non-scientist people."

"Do we know any normal people?"

Melinda thought about it. They really didn't.

"Mack's kind of close to normal."

"Mack it is," she agreed. "Now let's get this movie started."


End file.
